Question about installing speakers in swim platform

[JWPrendergast]

I plan to put 7.7" JL audio speakers throughout the boat, starting with the swim platform. Whats the best way to go about this? Where is there an access to make sure I don't cut into anything important?

 

[OperationROL]

You may have a hard time fitting that large of a speaker back there. Maybe your boat has the space. I could only fit 4 in speakers on mine, but I have a different model than you:

 

[JWPrendergast]

Im thinking about in this general area.

 

[OperationROL]

How shallow are the 7.7's? You have to consider the clean out tray right behind that area.

 

[JWPrendergast]

Good point, I hand considered that. Mounting depth is 3.15"

 

[Cory]

Any kind of sudden stop and those will be seriously wet. My kids would knock them out putting on their wakeboards and ski's etc.

 

[Cory]

Will they fit behind the seat backs in the indentation where the blower vents are? Not a perfect solution but workable?

 

[Troy]

I remember seeing that someone had the back pads redone so that there was room for speakers. It was located about where the widest part of the grey strip ison your boat. Found the pic I was looking for. Hope no one minds that.

 

[JWPrendergast]

Well, they are marine speakers, so im guessing getting wet shouldnt be a problem. They would be protected by the speaker grills, too. The only concern I have is if I stop hard, the amount of water pressure might be too much for the speaker to handle.

Our main concern is getting GOOD sound where we hang out the most; on the swim platform.

 

[JWPrendergast]

Here is a picture looking inside the swim platform (through the access port), towards the port side. You can see the stereo control on the end. It looks like there is plenty of clearance in there, but again, Im not sure how much force the speakers can take from water.

 

[Bruce]

I have 6x9s behind the seat cushions. There is plenty of gap for the sound to get out.

 

[JWPrendergast]

Putting them behind the seat cushions might be the way to go. Do you feel the sound is muffled a lot?

 

[txav8r]

I'm not a sound engineer...but it seems a real waste to me, to put a good quality speaker behind the cushion and expect any kind of reproduction to be emitted from under the cushion. Someone prove me wrong. Secondly, placing them low on the deck is not a concern to me. If you buy a quality speaker, then it "should" handle the abuse of water flowing onto/into it. That said, will it handle being constantly hit with boards, ropes, feet, dogs, etc.? I doubt it. But I if I were putting a speaker there, I would spend the money to make sure it was a fully sealed marine speaker, not just a low cost speaker...IMO

 

[Bruce]

They sound way better than speakers inside the boat. I am very happy with the sound.

If you wake surf then you get a lot of water washing up on the stern. The same happens with waves in the ocean.

 

[Julian]

I put Fusion on that ledge 3 or so years ago....no issue. You can just see them here....

 

[Detonate]

I have 6x9s behind the seat cushions. There is plenty of gap for the sound to get out.

Genius!

I think the only thing you could do better would be to get a component speaker.

You could hide the 'woofer' behind the seat and still put the tweet out in the open.

 

[JWPrendergast]

Detonate, I think you nailed it! That would be the best of both worlds. I can put the woofer under the back, and put the tweeter out in the open, under the back rest (but high enough above the water to feel safer).

 

[David Analog]

I wouldn't be concerned with transom splash with a true marine speaker. I wouldn't use a speaker with an open midbass voice coil (one with a tweeter mounting post) because debris will get in the VC gap and corrosion will also be an issue.
If the position of the transom speaker (any speaker) is too low and just barely above the swimdeck, sudden stops and the back wash can represent major displacement (ie: the lake) and is enough force to eventually tear the outer surround away from the cone. So heavy splash and wash is okay. Totally submerged for a brief moment definitely is not.
Placing a speaker behind a thick and dense cushion will have that speaker and amplifier playing perhaps four+ times harder to even approach the same output level. And the high frequencies will be totally lost. At the same time, the cushion will also mute some of the distortion.
Using a separate tweeter with a significant positional advantage to augment a buried fullrange speaker will create a very abrupt change in treble, which can sound extremely strident, kind of like fingernails on a chalkboard, especially on female vocals. You can obtain and add a supplemental tweeter to any speaker but I would pad the tweeter with an attenuation circuit, unless you have already suffered permanent hearing damage.

 

[dan144k]

I replaced my stock speakers with MM651UM and installed two extra by the swim deck.
(did not caulk, just used a waterproof foam tape behind speaker lip, I liked the access to area).
All the information I found said the speakers are marine nature in design and can get wet. ubmerged without problems.

 

[JWPrendergast]

I think the next time I go out, Ill do some hard stops and see how much water comes back on to the platform. Ill have to think about which would be a better install. I like the speaker being protected behind the seat back, and can keep the tweeter close to the woofer.